Soulless a Tale of Magic
by jane348
Summary: Harry is neglected in favour of his twin brother who is mistaken to be the BWL. Harry runs away and becomes a mercenary. What happens when he has to meet his family again at Hogwarts?
1. Chapter 1

That fateful night marked the beginning of a legend. The last battle of a war that marked the beginning of another was won that day by a single boy. The Boy-Who-Lived was being acclaimed and celebrated in every Wizarding home throughout Britain. The name of Adam Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived himself, would be engraved in every wizard´s memory as the savior of the Wizarding World. Books would be written about him, and every wizard would dream of the day they had the chance to meet the Boy. Adam Potter would be acclaimed and celebrated his whole life, his person would become a sign of good fortune and his name would bring veneration to the minds of anyone who heard it.

It was also that day, when the elder of the Potter twins would be condemned to a life of solitude and sadness. Harry Potter would be forgotten by everyone that was important to him. No one would know his name and few would ever remember him. Harry Potter would live forever at the shadow of his younger brother.

It had been four years since that fateful night…

Years that had been pure love and satisfaction for Adam Potter

And only tears for Harry Potter

Harry tried not to show his sadness. It was his birthday and he was supposed to be happy. Except he wasn´t and spent the whole day fighting back his tears. Everyone had forgotten about him. Of course, no one ever forgot about his twin brother. Adam Potter, better known as the Boy-Who-Lived, was never forgotten by anyone. His parents had thrown a great party in his honor and stuffed him with presents and compliments. Many family friends had been invited to the celebration and many people had come by to leave presents. Only none of them were for Harry.

Harry did not care about the presents, he had never cared. All Harry wanted was a show of affection. A hug, a smile, a "happy birthday", even a glance his way would be received with gratefulness. He heard his parents laugh as they hugged his brother. His uncle Remus and his uncle Sirius, Harry´s own godfather, were laughing with them. He did not know why he even cared. It had been years since his parents had spared him a glance and he knew he ought to had given up already, but as much as Harry wanted to forget he couldn´t.

He watched from the sidelines the whole day. He waited…but no one ever noticed his absence. Harry eventually gave up and returned to his room. He fought back tears. He would not cry, he would not… Tears streamed down his face, his small hands trying to wipe them of his face to no avail. It was so unfair. Nobody cared about him, nobody wanted him. Dad and mom only liked Adam. He had wondered throughout all his life why Adam always received the bigger present or the bigger serving of cake. At first he tried to gain his parents attention but his efforts were crushed when his parents thought he was jealous of his brother. Harry tried to convince them otherwise but they wouldn't listen and would only scold him. He eventually gave up.

Harry seeked refuge in the only place he knew; books. Harry had advanced much since the first time he had begun to read. He now could read almost any book easily and without getting confused by the language in them. He read of everything- from basic charms, to arithmancy, to muggle literature and math. He had taught himself to read when he was three. Seeing as his mother and father only had eyes for his brother he didn´t bother telling them. He then got interested in several languages. When he was five he mastered Spanish and French. He was currently quite fluid in five languages including German, Russian, Spanish, French, and English. He could solve math problems with algebra and was quite adept at muggle science.

On the side of magic Harry had already mastered spells that were normally taught during the 4th year in Hogwarts. At first, he couldn´t find a wand to practice the spells he learned. He once tried using his father´s wand but had almost been caught and decided it wasn´t worth the risk. He then had a brilliant idea and decided to try wandless magic. After hours and hours of practice he became proficient at it and started practicing more and more difficult spells.

In few words Harry Potter was what you could call a genius. A secret genius if you may say. Nobody was aware of it. Sure, Dumbledore would notice how brilliant he was when he came to visit and talk to the child but his family just didn´t pay him any attention. His uncle Remus and his godfather would be surprised as to how much he knew for his age but never really considered exactly _how_ advanced for his age he was.

No, nobody would notice because they were too busy training his brother to become a great wizard…his brother, Adam, because he was the bloody Boy-Who-Lived. And no matter how much Harry tried to deny it and hide his thoughts behind his books he still cried himself to sleep some nights when his parents wouldn´t even come up to his room to tell him dinner was ready. After all, all Harry had ever really wanted was to laugh alongside the rest of his family, share jokes, open Christmas presents together, celebrate birthdays and most of all; know he was part of their lives and that he occupied a part of their hearts.

So that day as he sat quietly in his room, looking at the full moon, he decided to calm his thoughts and go for a walk. Harry went out of the Manor without anybody noticing. He walked and walked and disappeared into the night, and just like that Harry Potter vanished from the lives of the rest of his family.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed the story. Toall of those who are asking; Yes I did get the idea of the story from Deprived, but I can promise you that in esence the story will be completely different (Sorry, I have read Deprived and I am not confident enough to compete with that, so I decided to make the story completely different). Anyways, Thanks for everything and please forgive any mistakes I make, this is my first Fic.**

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><p>James and Lily had been ecstatic when Adam was proclaimed to be the boy who lived. Albus had seen the scar on the boy. It was a nasty gash that formed a "V" pattern on his right cheek, nothing to be proud of, but his former pupils wouldn´t hear his voice. The scar would come to be more of a curse than a blessing in years to come, but until they were proven completely and absolutely wrong the Potters wouldn´t listen even if it was Merlin himself speaking to them. The Headmaster chuckled lightly at this image, some of the twinkle in his eyes increasing slightly only to diminish again and disappear.<p>

Yes, that day had been the start of a good life for Adam Potter. Still, he couldn´t help the guilt that washed over him when he remembered everything that had happened afterward. Harry Potter, a brilliant child, if his memory did not fault him. He remembered all those times he spoke with the elder Potter twin. The boy was incredibly bright. He knew things and asked questions people older and far more powerful than him would be proud to voice.

The child had an uncanny knack for solving mysteries. He wanted to know _why_ things happened. Little Harry was never content with any answer. He wanted to know everything. Albus found himself wanting him in Hogwarts before his time.

A single tear slid down the Headmaster´s old and wrinkled skin. It had been far too many years… a child´s mind would judge time to be relative.

Now, he was hanging onto a single thread of hope. His last hope if you may say. He thought it to be an ingenious plan in an almost childish way. Sometimes the simplest answer was by far the best.

Owls, of course. Magic was an odd thing, it served a purpose or none at all, but it was still there. Every year the magical registry of Hogwarts would produce a letter to each and every magical child of Britain. Be it muggle or wizard children both would receive the letter no matter what. The magic in the registry impeded it to act otherwise. The registry, thus, would not rest until each and every letter it sent was received by the addressee.

The Headmaster´s plan was simple, he would sit back and wait until the registry produced the letters, then a simple tracking charm would be placed on the owl that would deliver Harry´s letter. If Merlin permitted it, the letter would reach Harry pinpointing his location to the Headmaster. It was a horribly simple plan, too simple to work, or so the Headmaster thought, but if there was even the smallest of chances that it would work, he would make sure to help in any way he could.

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><p>He couldn't glance back. He kept on running, his lungs began to ache and his muscles began cramping. Still, he couldn´t stop. His sight began to blur. Now, he could barely make out the roots of trees and rocks strewn haphazardly along the path. He constantly tripped and Seria had to stop to help him up. The lack of light didn´t help either. He didn´t have a wand and although he could cast wandless magic his malnourished state would only keep his magic flowing for a few seconds. It didn´t matter, the distance between him and Seria and them was getting shorter by the minute. They were right behind them and he knew it. Seria wasn´t saying anything but he knew he was slowing her down. He couldn´t go on for much longer. He slowed down and stopped.<p>

"Seria" pale grey eyes turned to look at him

"What are you doing? Run!" She grabbed his hand and tried to pull him forwards.

"I-I can´t go on" Her eyes widened for a moment before a fiery determination settled in them

"Of course you can!" "Start running now or I´ll… I´ll stay here with you!" She grabbed his hand and tried to pull it forward. It was futile, Harry couldn´t go on, the cut on his right tight was bleeding profusely. It hurt, he didn´t mind it, but Seria wasn´t going as fast as she could because of him. If they kept going at this pace they would eventually be caught.

"Seria, go on, I´ll catch up with you later"

"No! You"- she tried to pull him forward- "are"- she pulled again-"coming"-and again-"with me!"

It was too much for her ten year old body. He fell over her. Her eyes became humid. Good, she finally understood.

"Is there really no way?" she whispered to him.

He shook his head.

"Fine" she sounded defeated. "Promise me" She locked eyes with him "Look at me! Promise me, Promise me Eagle! Promise me you´ll catch up!"

"I-I"

"Eagle! "

He sighed "I promise"

Footsteps could be heard approaching. Seria shot upwards, helping him up with her. She planted a kiss on his cheek before she turned around and started running. He absentmindedly rubbed the place she had kissed before making his own start. Little time had passed before they caught up with him. A sudden fear struck him and he prayed Seria had enough time to get away. His heart began beating even louder as all his fears slowly became reality. Instinct kicked in, he started gathering his magic reserves. He wouldn´t escape this one, that much was clear, but Seria would get away. He would make sure of that.

Green eyes glimmered dangerously as they set to fight. He swallowed his fear and fully embraced the possibility, for the first time in years, of dying. He looked back and there they were. Three of them, each with the tell-tale runes printed on their faces and the black robes and capes flowing behind them. Their wands casting an illuminating charm. He looked into his magical reserves. It was enough for protection. The more time the battle lasted the more time he´d give Seria to escape. The first spell flashed and he barely had time to evade it before a second and third spells were thrown his way. Soon, he was jumping around avoiding all kinds of spells he had never seen. He wasn´t thinking anymore just dodging wildly and relying purely on instinct. He kept going for what seemed a long time before the first spell struck him.

The _cruciatus_ curse. No matter how many times they performed it on you, you never really grew accustomed. Pain; A distant part of his mind registered the word. He gave a whale of agony as he fell to the ground. A thousand daggers cut through his skin. He screamed. All his thoughts abandoned him as he struggled to stay lucid. Flames scorched every single nerve ending throughout his body. A thousand years passed before the curse was released. He was left trembling and with no force. His magical reserves were almost completely exhausted after fighting it.

One of the three men approached him. He assessed his reserves. Enough power for about two spells without wand; about ten if he could get a hand on one. He let himself close his eyes aware of the disadvantages it gave him. He didn´t like it, but if it buyed time for Seria he was fine with it.

He felt the robed man come closer. He knelt down to feel his pulse.

"Yarde viel"

He couldn´t understand the language, he could pinpoint it was one of the Ancient but nothing else. If his hopes were correct they thought he was unconscious. He noticed the man´s hand placed directly over his heart. Great, just where he needed it. With a sudden surge of magic he pushed a potent stunning spell through his skin. The other wizard was hit and fell to his knees before tumbling and hitting the ground. He scrambled to his feet and grabbed the wand the wizard was still clutching in his hands. He conjured a _Protego _just before the foreign wizards released a new wave of spells. The spells crashed into his shield with such force he was barely able to hold it. He dispelled the shield for a second and sent three stunners towards the two standing wizards. One of them dodged but the other was hit. He sighed in relief. It would be so much easier to distract a single wizard.

The fight went on. He was relying solely on dodging and shield charms. He didn´t have the strength to Dissapparate and he was sure that they´d taken measures from preventing the captives of escaping by such means. And even if he could, he was quite sure he didn´t have the energy to do it without splinching.

He felt his magical core slowly, painstakingly draining. He was sure the fight had gone on for a good ten minutes now. It felt like ages, and his only consolation was hoping Seria would be alright. She owed it to her after all.

His Protego started to waver; his attacker intensified the power of his spells. His _Protego_ disappeared and several spells hit him. He felt his consciousness abandoning him, he couldn´t help it; he smirked. He wasn´t kept in the High Security cells for nothing. And just as he lost touch with reality he felt the tell-tale rush of ancient magic through his veins. He´d fall but he´d take every enemy down with him.

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><p>The Headmaster was contemplating his predicament with a mixture of disbelief, resignation, and sadness. His last hope was getting weaker by the second while he contemplated all possibilities. His plan had been far from perfect perfect. Still, he held to that single strand of hope he had. His worst fears were confirmed when he found out the owl could not deliver the letter. He had tracked the letter across several countries before it stopped advancing. The owl then entered a sort of trance in which it was forced to hover over a certain place without ever stopping. At first he had thought it to be inconsequential, for the area the owl was circling was very broad. It struck him as odd once the owl had circled the same place for the third time.<p>

Fearful that his worst prospects had been confirmed, he Apparated to Egypt, more precisely Alexandria were the owl was following its established route. Unfortunately for him he found out there was absolutely nothing he could do.

Hogwarts´s registry used very powerful compulsive magic so that owls felt the _need_ to deliver the letter to each and every student. That way it wasn´t just something the bird did out of loyalty to its familiar; It became a need akin to surviving. This proved useful when a student was very hard to come by or contact. While Hogwarts´s magic was very ancient and powerful, the wards placed around the city of Alexandria were very powerful themselves. Alexandria was traditionally guarded by a tribe of nymphs Alexander the Great had brought along with him when he founded the city. The clan had perfectioned its wards for thousands of years and guarded all the secrets of the city zealously.

Dumbledore could do nothing about it, and watched silently as his last strand of hope dissolved in thin air. He brought the poor owl back with him seeing as it would only suffer while trying to deliver something to someone that was protected by magic even more ancient and powerful than the one the Hogwarts´ Founders with all their magical prowess could do.

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><p>AN

Well, Thanks to everyone who read it. I am afraid I am quite bad at writting so I´m sorry if there are spelling or Grammar mistakes. I did the best I could. Well every, comment, correction and opinion is appreciated, so if you want to voice a tought on the story do not hesitate to review.


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